LITTLE EGG HARBOR - A ninth-grade student at Pinelands Regional Junior High School died Tuesday after being taken from the school to a local hospital, officials said.

An alert from the school district went out to parents, staff and students Tuesday night reporting the death of the student. Grief counselors would be available all day at the school Wednesday, according to that message.

The stricken student was taken to Southern Ocean Medical Center in the Manahawkin section of Stafford.

District interim Superintendent Maryann Banks declined to provide further information, citing the federal privacy law known as HIPAA.

Pinelands Regional Junior High School. Webart.(Photo: Amanda Oglesby)

Authorities said the student, whose name was not released, died of natural causes.

The school district has been beset by a number of problems lately, mostly involving the replacement of the high school roof. Scroll to the video above to watch and read to get the news and get on with your day.

In early October, officials closed the high school after a long ceiling screw fell and hit a student. The high school students were shifted to the Pinelands Regional Junior High School across Nugentown Road in Little Egg Harbor.

The tops of screws, it turned out, were sheared off during the work to replace the roof and they were falling, Banks told the Asbury Park Press.

The interim superintendent told parents Monday that she hopes the roof project will be finished within a few weeks and that students will return to their normal schedule in their own buildings by mid-November or early December.